If you're a Tour pro, the meter is always running. You just haveto be smart enough to know when to turn it off. That's whyso-called tee-up programs, the weekly bonus pools of moneyavailable to pros for playing a certain brand of equipment, canbe two-edged swords. On the one hand everyone wins. The poolsallow the pros to pocket found money, while the manufacturerscan claim the pros play with their equipment. On the other handthey tempt the pros to compromise their games, making some ofthe claims based on the weekly tally by the Darrell Survey ofwhat clubs the pros are playing highly questionable.

As the accompanying chart illustrates, the average PGA Tourplayer can make an extra $2,000 a week simply by using aparticular driver, putter, fairway wood, wedge, and ball andglove. Even elite players with endorsement contracts are seldomrequired to play more than 11 of their company's clubs, leavingat least three chances to pick up pool money.

Some manufacturers pay extra if players use their products for aset number of weeks, while others will double the payment for ayear's worth of uninterrupted use. There are also incentives forhigh finishes, which is how most of the bonus money in the balland glove category is divvied up. In addition to cash, playersare sometimes paid in stock. The most novel incentive currentlyavailable is offered by Porsche Design Golf, which awards a$50,000 Boxster to any player who wins using a Porsche driver.(No one has to date.)

The count on the Darrell Survey, which companies use to supportadvertising claims about the popularity of their clubs withpros, can be misleading. In many cases all a manufacturer has todo to increase its market share among Tour players is make itsbonus payments larger than the competition's. New companies usetee-up programs to heighten awareness. For example Softspikeshad programs on the LPGA, PGA and Senior tours, beginning in1996, with their biggest offer being $20,000 to any winner of aSenior event who wore its nonmetal spikes. The programs werediscontinued this year because those spikes became commonplace.

Players must guard against mistaking the tee-up money for thebig prize. "The programs had more impact a few years ago, beforethe purses jumped," says the Tour representative for one clubmanufacturer. "Players are really after the best product so theycan play their best." Says Larry Ziegler, a Senior tour playerwho dropped out of a wedge maker's bonus pool because he wasn'tcomfortable with the club, "Why should I mess up a chance to win$300,000 just to make $500?"

That's the feeling among players who are financially secure.More apt to compromise are pros who are not as competitive orare short on cash. Even on the big Tour an extra grand or two aweek is nothing to sneeze at. "It took some pressure off,definitely," says second-year pro Rich Beem of the $1,250 a weekhe made in pool money as a rookie--$500 for playing a Callawaydriver and $750 for using a Titleist putter. "Those were theclubs I came on the Tour playing, but if they hadn't been, Icould've been tempted."

The easy money can be hard to resist. According to a DarrellSurvey staffer, one PGA Tour player carried two putters in hisbag for several weeks last year--one to play with and the otherso he could pick up $15,000 in bonus money.

Andy North at 50BACK ON COURSE

Andy north turned 50 on March 9 and will make his Senior tourdebut in the March 17-19 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf as JimColbert's partner. An ESPN commentator for the last eight years,North will be the fourth senior to make the leap from the TVbooth back to competitive golf, following Colbert, Gary McCordand Bob Murphy. What did North learn during his time in thetower? "Watching a guy like [Hale] Irwin reaffirms the stuffyou've known your whole life," North says. "The game is simplewhen you don't get in your own way. Of course, the minute youget into competition, that's easy to forget."

North is one of only 18 men to win two U.S. Opens, in 1978 atCherry Hills and in 1985 at Oakland Hills. Because he won onlyone other event, the 1977 Westchester Classic, he is cited asthe exception that proves the rule that, as Walter Hagen said,"anybody can win one Open. It takes a hell of a player to wintwo."

Injuries ruined North's career. He has a long history ofphysical ailments, starting in the seventh grade in Madison,Wis., when he had to quit playing basketball for two seasonsbecause the bones in his knees stopped growing. In 1986 Northbroke his right hand at a Wisconsin football practice when, as aspectator, he slipped. Over the next seven years he had sevensurgeries, including five knee operations.

North is reasonably healthy again. How he will play, though, isa mystery. As an Open winner, North is eligible for the fourSenior majors but otherwise will have to rely on sponsor'sexemptions. Mixed in with some television work, he expects toplay 20 tournaments. His immediate goal is to win an event ormake the top 31 on the money list, either of which will keep himfrom having to attend Q school in the fall.

If there's one tournament in which North will be particularlytough, it will be the Senior Open at Saucon Valley Country Clubin Bethlehem, Pa. "I've always been ready for whatever Iconsidered my major," he says. "Now the Senior Open is my major."

Tricks of the Trade

We've seen how well Tiger Woods can bounce a ball on his sandwedge, but did you know that Chi Chi Rodriguez has hit two ballsand made them collide in midair? Or that Paul Azinger can hitshots that go more than 100 yards but never get more than fivefeet off the ground? Here are some of the top tricks andtrick-shot artists you might see at a tour event.

The Inspiration Believe it or not, the phlegmatic Ed Dougherty was Woods'strick-shot inspiration. While attending the L.A. Open as a teen,Woods noticed that Dougherty not only could dribble a ball onhis Bulls Eye putter but also could spin it. "That reallyimpressed me," says Woods.

All-day Sucker Know what happens if you bet Tom Jenkins, a Senior tour player,that he can't bounce a ball with his wedge at least 1,000 timeswithout a miss? You lose.

Sand Man The master at hitting from his knees, Seve Ballesteros hasanother specialty: a lofted, spinning sand shot with a two-iron.

Dead Hands Dick You might see Tom Kite try this one in a tournament. He takes aslow but full swing with a 61 1/2-degree wedge, never breakinghis wrists. The ball goes about four feet up and four feetforward, then drops straight down without a bit of spin.

Phil's Phlops Everyone agrees that Phil Mickelson is the father of the flopshot. One of his favorite tricks is having a fellow pro standfive feet in front of him with his back turned and his hand out.Mickelson flops the ball over the player's shoulder and into hishand. Another Mickelson favorite is putting a ball on an extremeuphill lie, then flopping it backward over his head. His mostimpressive bit, though, is when he takes a full swing with hisL-wedge, then reaches out with his right hand and snags the ballon its way up.

One-armed Bandit Using only his left arm, Johnny Miller can hit full shots thatfly nearly as far as those he hits with both hands on the club.Miller's secret? He's a natural southpaw.

Hip Hop Like Miller, Stuart Appleby plays righthanded, yet he likes toturn over his three-iron, switch to the port side, toss a ballinto the air and hit it just as it touches the ground, like adropkick. The ball soars high and goes 125 yards.

Laser Beam Paul Azinger can choke down on a two-iron and punch darts thatgo 100 yards without ever getting more than five feet off theground.

Up Against the Wall When he was on the Senior tour, Bob Brue would put a ball twofeet from a wall, then stand sideways with his right foottouching the wall's base. From that position he would lift afour-iron straight up, cock his wrists and hit a 150-yard shot.

The One and Only Chi Chi Rodriguez does things that Tiger only dreams about. Oneof Chi Chi's favorite wedge routines is bouncing a ball withglancing blows to impart spin. He catches the ball on the clubface, where it spins like a basketball on the end of one'sfinger. Chi Chi's piece de resistance is his colliding balltrick. He places two balls close together and, with a five-iron,hits the first with a slice and then, in the blink of an eye,the second with a hook. One out of 1,000 times, the ballscollide in midair.

Glove and BallPGA $20,000 a win;$100,000 major winSenior $5,000 a win;$10,000 major winLPGA $5,000 a win;$10,000 major win

PutterPGA $600-$1,000;$10,000 a win;$25,000 major winSenior $400-$600;$2,500 a win;$5,000 major winLPGA $200-$300 ;$2,000 a win;$5,000 major win

Trust Me

Unless it is reversed by the Supreme Court, Casey Martin'sresounding victory over the PGA Tour in a U.S. Court of Appealswill open the floodgates. Expect more carts to appear on theTour because other handicapped pros, such as Bill Glasson(arthritis) and Scott Verplank (diabetes), will take advantageof this landmark decision.

Threesomes

What do these people have in common?

--Kathy Ireland--Betsy King--Byron Nelson

They have eponymous tour events. The Kathy Ireland Greens.comLPGA Classic, the First Union Betsy King Classic and the GTEByron Nelson Classic.

Feedback

Should a victory in a Tour event automatically qualify a playerfor the Masters?

Yes 80%No 20%

--Based on 1,032 responses to our informal survey

Next question: Who does the best job of televising golf: ABC,CBS, NBC, ESPN or the Golf Channel? Vote at golfplus.cnnsi.com.

Sarah Johnson, Littleton, Colo.Johnson, 30, an assistant pro at Foothills Golf Course inDenver, shot an eight-over 224 to win the PGA Women's StrokePlay at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., by four shotsover Shawn Durocher, Suzy Whaley and Trisha Ziegel. The StrokePlay was the first tournament for women pros ever sponsored bythe PGA of America.

Todd Barker, Taylorsville, UtahBarker, 46, the owner of Fore Lakes Golf Course in Taylorsville,won the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Americachampionship for the second time in six years, in a playoffwith Paul Jett of Pinehurst. Barker and Jett tied at five-over149 in regulation. A +0.7 handicapper, Barker won the 1997 UtahAmateur.

Shauna Estes, Orangeburg, S.C.Estes, a senior at Georgia, shot a one-under 212 to win the TRWRegional Challenge at Palos Verdes (Calif.) Golf Club by a shotover Candie Kung of Southern Cal and Miriam Nagl of ArizonaState. The TRW, which featured eight top 10 teams, was Estes'sseventh collegiate title, matching the school record set byVicki Goetze.